Rapture's Visitor
by Chaos Rex Regis
Summary: A man who finds himself in Rapture must now find a way to escape. With the help of a half crazy inventor with a knack for randomly speaking to objects and whatnot he journeys through the once marvelous city under the sea. Takes place before the game even.
1. Welcome To Rapture

**Rapture's Visitor**

* * *

"Things are not always as they seem"

* * *

The sound of the waves crashing against the rocky shore stirred Garth from unconsciousness. He tried to stand up and a wave of pain coursed throughout his body. He staggered as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. There wasn't much around him other than the ocean and a lighthouse with a stairway behind him. His clothes were soaked with saltwater and rubbed roughly against his skin and the only relief was the cold rainwater hitting his skin. He felt like he was about to fall asleep, so he tried going up the steps in hopes of finding a place to stay warm. At the top of the steps was a large, looming metal door. Using the last of his strength, Garth managed to push open the door and stepped inside. It was dark inside, enough so that one wouldn't even be able to see their own hand in front of them. The door closed shut behind him as a series of lights lit up the interior of the room. He huddled up in a corner as he tried to warm himself up. He managed to find bits and scraps of paper, and even a lighter, and made a fire. His mind started to wander and recall the events leading up to his current state.

* * *

It had been a very pleasant evening onboard Garth's cruise liner. He was throwing a party to celebrate the recent success of one of his many companies. He owned several industries and was very well known in the business world. He had risen up from almost nothing to a financial genius. He was tall and rugged, very handsome too. His unusual hair color, white, and red eyes seemed to attract attention to him wherever he went. He was about to become 30 as well, yet he retained his sharp looks no matter how much he aged. Everything a man could ever want was his, and yet, he felt an emptiness inside of him. For years he had searched for it with no success. He leaned against the railing and looked up at the night sky. He could hear the sounds and noises of the other partygoers off on the other side of the ship. He let out a deep sigh and thought to himself, _What's the point of it all?_

"If you wish to know, I can tell you." Garth turned quickly to get a look at where the mysterious voice had come from, but no one was there.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" demanded Garth.

"My identity is not important. However, all of your questions, as to who you are and what your purpose is, shall be answered in due time" said the voice.

"What are you talking about? How do you know what I'm thinking?!"

"In approximately 1 minute there will be an explosion in the engine room. I suggest you get your guest off to safety" and with that the mysterious voice disappeared.

_Did I just imagine that, or was it…_before Garth could finish that thought there was a large explosion and the sounds of people screaming. _No time to think about it!_ thought Garth as he ran towards the control room.

"What happened?!" asked Garth as he burst in.

"Captain! An explosion in the engine room has created a large hole in the side of the ship! We're taking on water fast!" said a crewmember.

"We need to get everyone to safety! Are we able to get an S.O.S. out?" asked Garth.

"No sir! The communications radio is out!"

"Damn! Alright then, everyone focus on getting the others to the lifeboats! I'll work on the radio" ordered Garth.

Much after that was a blur. Garth made several attempts at contacting another ship, only succeeding in time to see a piece of the ceiling fall on him and knock him out. How he survived was an unknown miracle, and the next thing he remembered was being in a violent storm with only a piece of driftwood to hang on to. He didn't know how long he was out, but he was glad to still be alive.

* * *

Garth shook himself awake after realizing that he had fallen asleep. The fire had burned out but at the very least his clothes had dried. He had used his outer coat as fuel earlier, so all he had left was his red vest, black dress shirt, slacks, and dress shoes. He stood up and slapped the sides of his face in an effort to stay awake. _Well, no point in staying here_ he thought to himself, and started making his way down the stairs. There were plaques alongside the stairs with words depicting science, art literature, and other such embodiments of culture. What caught his attention though was the large bathysphere at the bottom. Seeing as there was nowhere else he could go, he decided to go ahead and climb in.

Once the door shut closed behind him, the lights inside went out, and a film was projected onto the wall in front of him. Several images filled the screen as the voice of a man could be heard saying, "I'm Andrew Ryan and I'm here to ask you a question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow? No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor. No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God. No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone."

_Who is this loony? _wondered Garth as the recording continued.

"I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose…" as he spoke these words the cover on the front of the bathysphere removed itself and what Garth saw amazed him. "…Rapture."

_A city under the sea? He's either got to be loony or a genius to be able to do such a thing_ thought Garth.

The recording went on to say, "A city where the artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where the great would not be constrained by the small. And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well."

_Looks like he's both_ concluded Garth.

* * *

The bathysphere reached its destination and as the door opened he could see signs of chaos and strife within the station. But what really attracted him was a cylinder glass tube with the words 'Vita-Chamber' on the top. Walking over to it, he read the description panel next to it. _Revitalizes one's self? Just what I needed _he thought as he pressed open the door and stepped in. The chamber started up and Garth could feel a jolt throughout his body as the fatigue and muscle sores faded away. Once it had finished and he had stepped out he felt better than he'd ever felt before.

_I'd like one of these on my office_ he thought as he noticed that even his clothes had been repaired. His thoughts were interrupted as the sound of luggage being moved and falling alerted him to the presence of another person. _Apparently, I'm not alone here_. He reached for the nearest object that could be used as a weapon (an old lead pipe) and, for the first time in his life, was glad that he had taken those sword mastery classes. _It's a shame I don't my __sakabatō__ with me_ (note: sakubato=reverse-edge Japanese sword).

Garth moved slowly over to where the sounds had emitted from, careful to avoid bumping into the various suitcases and other luggage around him. The sounds of mumbling could be heard and Garth spun around, placing the tip of the pipe at the throat of a slumbering figure.

_What the…_ Garth couldn't help but notice the figure's peculiar outfit; he was wearing an old British gentleman's suit, with a coattail, top hat, cane, and even mustache and monocle. Even more odd was the fact that he hadn't waken even with the pipe pressing against his throat. Garth didn't know if he should wake the man or not, and after some thought, taking into account the fact he didn't look dangerous and that he could probably tell him what happened, shook him awake.

The man stirred a bit before sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "~Yawn~ Morning already? Breakfast ready yet?" he asked, before noticing the tall and frightful looking man looming over him (in that lighting, almost anyone would look scary). "Good Heavens!!" he exclaimed as he jumped a few feet up into the air and hid behind a pillar.

"Have some decency, good sir! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" then he noticed Garth's attire and how it didn't look like crap. "You're not from around here, are you?" he asked.

"My name's Garth," Garth told him, "And I'm not here because I wanted to. For that matter, where is 'here' anyway?"

The man stepped out from behind the pillar and gave a formal bow before answering, "Well, my good sir, you are in Rapture! Well, what's left of it. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Thompson Thomson, but you can call me Thompson" he said.

_Weird name._ "So Thompson, know what's going on here? Or more importantly, how I can get out?"

"I wish I could tell you the way out, unfortunately that's what everyone else wants to know! As for what's going on, well the city's falling apart, everyone's gone mad, and there's a battle for control of the city between Andrew Ryan and a man name Atlas. I believe that sums up the most of it" explained Thompson.

"Sounds pleasant. I'll just be on my way then" said Garth.

"Wait!" shouted Thompson, "You look like the sturdy type? Mind if I come with? I'm an inventor you know, I'm sure to be of some help!"

Garth thought about it for a moment. "…Don't see why not. You probably know this place better than I do" he said.

"Good show, sir! You won't regret your decision! And I promise I won't kill you then loot the body, no sir!" shouted Thompson.

"…I'm just going to ignore that last part" added Garth.

"Righto then! Let us go! This way!" Thompson shouted as he started walking down the room.

_I wonder if I really _won't _regret this _pondered Garth as he followed Thompson into the darkness.

* * *

"No Gods, or Kings, only Man"

End Chapter One

* * *


	2. Are We There Yet?

**Are We There Yet?**

* * *

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

* * *

Garth and Thompson made their way out of the bathysphere station and up a staircase leading them into a lounge. Looking around, Garth saw a model of Rapture to his left, and on the right was a table with snack bars, a bag of potato chips, and a bottle of mineral water. He suddenly realized how hungry he was and walked over to the table. Normally he wouldn't even think of eating something as unhealthy as what lay on the table, but he was willing to eat just about anything at this point. He picked up the snack bar and looked at it, then turned to Thompson.

"Is this thing safe to eat?" he asked.

"No clue, my friend! 'Course, I eat them all the time anyway! Food tends to be a bit scarce the days, I'm afraid" answered Thompson.

Garth looked again at the snack bar he held in his hand. _Well, at least it was still wrapped_ he thought as he opened the packaging and bit down on the tip of the bar. _Too sweet_ he thought as he finished off the bar and moved on to the chips. Once he had finished eating he drowned the meal down with the mineral water and looked around again to find that Thompson had disappeared.

"Thompson? Where'd you go?" he called out.

"I'm up here, sir! You should come up too, there's something quite useful up here!" Thompson's reply was followed by an explosion and a burst of black smoke.

Garth looked for the stairs and dashed up them to find out what had happened. At the top of the stairs was an entrance into another smaller room filled with black smoke. "You ok in there, Thompson?" he asked.

"*Cough, cough* Just fine, sir! Thanks for asking!" Thompson shouted as the smoke began to fade away. Garth could see Thompson sitting in front if the remains of a Gatherer's Garden with several vials, many cracked, scattered around him.

"What are those vials on the floor for?" Garth asked.

Thompson stood up and brushed smoke and dirt off his suit before picking one of the vials up. "These are Plasmids, my good fellow! They allow us to perform acts never before thought possible! I suggest this one," he said as he handed Garth a glowing yellow vial.

Garth read the label, "Electro-Bolt?"

"Go on, sir, just be careful not to lose it when you first splice up!"

_Why am I doing this? _Garth asked himself as he placed the tip of the needle from the vial against the vein in his left arm. Shoving the point in, he flinched as he shot the liquid into his bloodstream. Finishing the injection, he dropped the vial and could hear it crash into the floor. He vision went blurry as everything went hazy.

"Hang tight, sir! Just the side effects of your first splicing experience!" reassured Thompson. However, something happened next that not even he had expected. A surge of electricity began to build up in Garth's left arm and black-colored bolts of energy ran across it. Garth pointed his arm at the wall next to Thompson as an involuntary discharge shot out from his palm, creating a hole in the wall.

"That was quite unexpected" said Thompson as he helped Garth back up. "Shall we try another?"

Garth was more or less out cold when Thompson asked him, and unknowingly replied with a "s-sure…"

"Goody!" shouted Thompson, "Let's do this one then!" He picked up a light blue vial with the words "Winter Blast" on it and injected it into Garth's arm. Garth's arm began to freeze over and several black-blue spikes broke out of the skin on his arm. Thompson waited to see if anything else would happen, but nothing did.

"Well, at least I wasn't nearly killed that ti-" his mouth was froze shut as Garth slowly tried to stand up.

"Shut up, Thompson" he told him as he held his head with his free hand. He studied his new arm covered in icicles and frost and experimented with his new powers, including switching between the two and swapping them between arms. He found that while he could switch the arm that used the plasmid he couldn't call up more than one at a time. By the time he had finished experimenting, the ice around Thompson's mouth thawed and melted, allowing him to talk again.

"You didn't have to go and freeze my mouth like that! It's quite rude, you know!" he shouted at Garth.

"Just forget it, Thompson. It's not like I meant to do it anyway…I think." Deciding to ignore Thompson's further complaints, Garth looked for the door to the next room. He saw one on the other side of the room so he headed down the stairs and tried to open it. It was locked.

"Thompson, how do I open this door?" Garth asked.

"Well, normally one could simply _un_lock the door using the panel next to it, however…" Thompson pointed to the broken panel box next to the door as a few sparks shot out of it.

It only took a moment for Garth to find out what to do. He charged up Electro Bolt and zapped the broken control panel with a blast of black and yellow electricity. The panel overloaded and burst as the door shot open.

"Whatever works, I guess," said Thompson, "Though I do believe that your body has somehow altered the original genetic makeup of the plasmids you took to better fit your body. I daresay I'd enjoy taking a look at your own genetic makeup once we reach my lab, if that's alright with you."

"Well see when we get there, let's move on for now" replied Garth. He walked through the door to find himself in a glass-tube walkway that connected to two different pathways. "Which way should we go; straight, or to the left?" Garth asked Thompson.

"I'd suggest the straight path, I don't know much about the left one" Thompson replied.

"Straight it is" said Garth as he carried on down the pathway. As he did, he looked all around him, taking in the majestic sight of the underwater city. He wondered how such an impressive place had come to be as ruined as it was. Upon reaching the door he turned his attention back to his task at hand: getting out of the place. He opened the door and stepped inside, followed by Thompson. The room they had stepped in was modeled to look like a waiting terminal despite the fact that it was not linked to any stations or anything similar to one. The first thing to catch his eye was a corpse lying against the glass wall to the right of the entrance. He walked over to it and took a good look at it.

"Poor fellow, didn't stand a chance" said Thompson as he walked up to the corpse, "Looks like he was killed while he slumbered. Hello, what's this…?" He reached for a glowing blue vial that lay between the corpse's feet. "Looks like his misfortune is our good luck! This here is an EVE hypo, quite useful for when you're running low on plasmid power!" explained Thompson. "He must've been splicing too much and overdosed."

"EVE? Is that what lets me use those powers earlier?" asked Garth.

"Close, EVE is the energy consumed when using those powers. The powers themselves are caused by the plasmids you injected yourself with, my good fellow" Thompson explained.

After Thompson's explanations, Garth searched the rest of the room and found several useful items such as MedKits, another EVE hypo, some food, and a pack of cigarettes. _I could use a smoke right about now_ thought Garth as he stuck one of the cigarettes between his lips and lit it using a nearby lighter. He inhaled deeply and let out a puff of smoke as he thought about what to do next. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door being opened and of metal being scrapped across tile. _We're not alone_ Garth realized as he reached for the nearest thing that could be used as a weapon; an artist's easel lying amongst a pile of luggage.

"It's a splicer…" whispered Thompson.

"Splicer…?" asked Garth.

"Nearly became one myself, they're a nasty bunch of people who've spliced up too much with plasmids, rotted their brains out. They're part of the reason Rapture is what it is today" said Thompson.

Garth had more questions about splicers, plasmids, and Rapture itself, but they would have to wait until after they got to a safer location. The splicer who had entered the room was humming a tune about finding mice and killing them for soup when Garth took the initiative and attacked before the splicer could find him. He silently leapt out of the shadows and swung the easel in an upwards motion from his side only to be surprised to learn that the splicer had actually been expecting this and was looking straight at him. The splicer raised his lead pipe to block Garth's swing and splintered the easel with a loud 'crack!' The splicer brought his face right up to Garth's, his uneven eyes and twisted nose almost touching his own, as he whispered, "Hello, my pretty!"

Garth kicked forward with his foot and sent the splicer flying backwards as Garth took a look to see what condition the easel was in. It was already bent and splintering and most likely wouldn't take more than one or two more blows. His mind was racing as to what he should do when Thompson shouted out from the shadows, "The Plasmids! Use the Plasmids already!" Garth nearly kicked himself for not remembering before that he had supernatural abilities now. The splicer was stumbling to recover his posture while Garth dropped the easel and concentrated on bringing out his Electro Bolt instead. Black-red sparks and electric currents began to run up and down the length of his arm as he kept his aim steady with the other. By the time the splicer noticed what Garth was up to it was too late. He scrambled to get out of the way of Garth's Electro Bolt shock as Garth fired a black-red bolt of electricity at him, striking him in the back. The powerful electric current ran all along the splicer's body and Garth rushed forward to deliver the final blow: a punch to the back of the head, rendering him unconscious.

Garth breathed heavily as he looked down upon the limp form of the splicer. "Good show, sir!" shouted Thompson as he crawled out from his hiding spot, "Aren't you going to finish him off?"

Garth turned to face him. "There's no need. Unnecessary violence will only lead to more violence" he told him.

"Can we at least take his stuff? Supplies _are_ hard to come by down here" asked Thompson.

"That's fine with me" said Garth. After confirming it was ok, Thompson proceeded to dig through the unconscious splicer's pockets, finding a pep bar a few dollar bills. Once he had finished looting the splicer, Thompson remembered something and told Garth, "I say, you detest killing, right? I think I may have just the weapon for you in my apartment. It's just up ahead, let's go!"

* * *

End Chapter 2

* * *


	3. Splicers and Daddies and Sisters, Oh My!

**Splicers and Daddies and Sisters, Oh My!**

* * *

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"

* * *

Garth and Thompson went inside a door that led to a stairwell leading to an apartment complex. "Ah the good 'ol Addison Square apartment complex! The most likely place we'll find my home" Thompson announced as they approached the top of the stairwell.

Garth looked over at a sign that read 'Bernstein Apartments.' "Most likely?" he asked.

"Can't quite remember, it's my memory, I'm afraid. Tends to forgot details like that every now and…" his voiced drifted off as he stared into empty space.

"Thompson? What is it?" asked Garth.

Thompson snapped out of his daze and turned his head over at Garth and looked at him with a puzzled look. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" he asked.

Garth hit him on the top of his head with his fist while saying, "Knock it off, Thompson."

"Ow, dreadfully sorry 'bout that, sah! Anyho, here we are!"

Before the two of them was a large apartment complex looming overhead. Several banners with words such as "Science," "Technology," and "Advancement" hanging from flagpoles. But what caught their attention was the sound of a heated argument and a man's voice begging to be forgiven. Before Garth could determine what was going on and explosion rang out from one of the cage-like elevator shafts and a burning elevator car fell to the ground. Someone was still inside the car when it fell and pried the doors open once it hit ground level. A man who had caught on fire along with the elevator dashed out of the car and was screaming in agony. He headed towards Garth while brandishing a lead pipe in his hands. Garth quickly zapped the man with Electro Bolt and sent him flying with a right straight.

"Wonder what that was about. No use worrying about it, though. Let's move on, shall we?" said Thompson.

Garth looked at the man, splicer to be exact, as he burned to death. "Yeah, let's do that."

They stepped into the only remaining elevator and started it up. With some creaking and mechanical moans the elevator came to life and started carrying them up. As they headed for the top floor they saw a splicer banging on a door and shouting in a pitiful voice to be let in. "A lover's quarrel, how nice!" whispered Thompson excitedly. Garth just rolled his eyes at the comment.

When they reached the top floor they stepped out and Thompson headed over to a corner with no door. "Here we are!" he stated as Garth walked over to him. Looking around Garth saw nothing but some stray trash, a metal sheet propped up against a wall, and a cardboard box.

"…You live in a cardboard box?" questioned Garth.

"Of course I don't!" replied Thompson, "I obviously live _next _to the cardboard box! Besides, that's Jed's house."

_I'd rather _not _know who Jed is, _thought Garth. "Where's this 'weapon' you were talking about?"

"Righty-oh, let me grab that, then!" Thompson pulled the metal sheet to the side to reveal a hole behind it. Inside the hole were several objects of questionable intent and purpose as well as a lab on one side and several pieces of luxury quality furniture including a king-sized bed that looked like one would be sleeping on a cloud. Thompson ducked in, grabbed a Japanese styled sword and sheath and popped back out.

"Here you go!" he said, handing Garth the blade.

"Should I even ask as to why you live _outside_ the room full of luxuries?" Garth asked.

"What on Earth are you talking about?"

"…Never mind."

Garth pulled the sword out of its sheath and examined it. The first thing he noticed was the blades edge, which was on the opposite side facing up. "A reversed-edge sword?" he thought aloud.

"You can defend yourself with this and _without_ killing anyone!" said Thompson.

Garth took a few practice swings to judge the weight and length of the sword. "I'm more accustomed to rapiers myself, but this should do just fine. Thanks, Thompson. Where'd you get this, anyway?"

"Err…internet?"

"Does that even exist yet?"

"I don't know, honestly. The author's too lazy to check his facts anyway."

"Hey, no breaking the fourth wall!" said Garth as he bopped Thompson on the head.

"Oouch! Sorry, won't happen again, sah!"

"We should get going now" said Garth as he sheathed the sword and strapped the sheath to his pants.

"Right behind you, sah!" saluted Thompson.

"Do you have to do that weird accent?"

"No, sah!"

"…" Garth decided not to delve any further and started to walk down the row of apartments.

The two of them continued to walk until a voice and shadow caused them to stop. The shadow of a woman leaning over a baby stroller was accompanied by children's lullaby, presumably sung by the woman casting the shadow. When they got closer they could see that the woman was a splicer, and that she was singing to a revolver. Before Garth could get a chance to do anything Thompson spoke up. "That girl ain't in her right mind, I daresay!"

The splicer turned to where Garth and Thompson were once hearing Thompson's statement. Letting out a fierce yell, she shouted, "Stay away! Stay away from my child!" She proceeded to charge the two, brandishing a wrench in her hands, swinging it back and forth towards them.

"Nice job, Thompson!" shouted Garth as he unsheathed the sword to defend Thompson and himself from the psychopathic woman.

"Why thank you, sah!" replied Thompson.

"Ever hear of 'sarcasm?'"

"No, what's that taste like?"

Garth let out a groan at Thompson's response but didn't have any time left to reply, the splicer had come within striking range. Garth just barely had time to bring his sword up to intercept her strike, the shock and sound of metal hitting metal stunning him momentarily. He recovered in time to dodge a second swing of the splicer's wrench, rolling on the ground beneath her and side-sweeping her off her feet. Garth jumped back a step and prepared a shot of Electro Bolt to send at the splicer. Black-blue sparks of electric power ran up and down the length of his arm whilst the splicer stood up and turned to face Garth only to have a look of fright fill her face. Dropping the wrench she turned around and tried to run, but before she could get away Garth discharged the built-up Electro Bolt straight at her back. Letting out a shrill shriek the splicer lit up more than a toaster oven dropped into a bath tub full of water. She fell to the ground in a quivering pile of burnt hair and charred flesh as residual electric sparks came out of her body and into the ground. Garth walked over a prodded her with the sword to make sure she was down, and once confirmed he sheathed the sword and sat down against a wall while letting out a breath of relief.

"That 'Electro Bolt' sure takes a lot out of me" he commented.

"Well you did jolly well charge it up past the normal standard, sah! Didn't think it was bolly possible, wot!" mentioned Thompson. Garth stood up again and pulled a cigarette out of his front shirt pocket and lit it with his lighter, inhaling deeply and slowly letting it out in a puff of smoke. He walked over to the cradle where handgun laid. Reaching in and picking it up, he examined it closely, checking the cartridges and feel of it as well.

"A magnum…very powerful handgun. Six shots, easy to carry, this could be useful" he said as he pocketed it. "Let's move on."

"Yes, sah!" saluted Thompson.

* * *

End Chapter 3 


	4. Escape to the Medical Pavilion Part 1

**Escape to the Medical Pavilion (Part 1)**

* * *

"I see an angel, Mr. B"

* * *

The room ahead of them had signs of a previous massive struggle as purses, masks, bullet casings, and other various objects were scattered all over the room. It was a two-story restaurant with a staircase connecting the floors together on the right and an overhanging balcony on the left where one could look down at the statue of Atlas below. A banner with the words 'Happy New Year 1959!' strewn across it. A foul smell lodged itself inside Garth's nose as he and Thompson stepped into the abandoned restaurant. Garth clenched his nose to defend it from the invasive scent that filled the room.

"Augh… what is this awful stench?" he said out loud. The putrid scent of various alcohols, cigarettes, rancid food and blood was strong enough to gag even a skunk. Thompson gave a couple sniffs to see what Garth was complaining about.

"Sniff, sniff… hmmm… it appears to be a combination of spilt fermented fruit drinks, beer, alcohol, decomposing food material, large amounts of C₇₃₈H₁₁₆₆N₈₁₂O₂₀₃S₂Fe…" He prattled on endlessly until Garth nudged him in the side with the hilt of the sword.

"I was speaking figuratively. So where are we now?" He pulled out a cig, lit it, and inhaled deeply hoping it would cover up the smell of death in the room. It didn't help much.

"Why, this is the fabulous Kashmir Restaurant! "T'was one of Rapture's finest restaurants in its prime. Ah, I was one of its most frequent visitors back in the day. So many memories~"

"I thought you were poor, how could you afford to pay for meals at a high class restaurant?"

"I said 'visitors' not 'customers.' Yessah, I would get chased out of here all the time for rummaging through the garbage. Good times, good times…"

Knowing he wouldn't be getting any more useful information from Thompson at this point Garth started to scavenge any useful items he could from the upper level of the once luxurious restaurant. There wasn't much save for a couple of snacks on a table accompanied by a few alcoholic beverages and a pack of cigs. Pocketing the cigs he took a small swig of one of the unopened drinks sitting on the table. He wasn't particularly fond of such drinks but he hadn't had anything to quench his thirst since arriving in the city. In the meantime, Thompson was speaking with an old lamp hanging off the wall about who would win in a fight: a chicken with no legs or a retarded, blind puppy. It wasn't long before Garth noticed someone's voice coming up from downstairs. He glanced over at Thompson to see what he was doing and found him half-naked from playing strip poker with the lamp… and losing badly. Seeing as how he wasn't in any danger, aside catching a cold from not wearing clothes, Garth crept slowly down the stairs to find the source of the voice. It got louder as he approached the bottom of the stairs he could see a splicer banging on the door leading into the kitchen, begging to be let inside. He was apologizing to whoever was on the other side of the door about something to do with ADAM.

Not wanting to alert whoever was behind the closed kitchen doors Garth brought the temperature around his hand to below freezing in order to prep a shot of Winter Blast at the splicer. Once his hand was covered in a thin layer of frost with icicles jutting out of his skin he leaned over the edge of the stairwell railing and fired off a blast of freezing air, encasing the splicer in ice and silencing him. He quickly hopped over the rail and waited to see what would happen next. Now that the splicer outside of the kitchen was no longer making any noise, the splicer inside the kitchen called out to him.

"Charlie? Charlie, what happened?" A leaderhead splicer, female, stepped out of the kitchen holding a revolver in her hands. Noticing the splicer frozen solid in a block of ice she shouts angrily and starts waving her gun around.

"My Charlie! Who killed my Charlie!" but before she could get a chance to learn of 'Her Charlie's' attacker she found herself unable to move and extremely cold. At that point she wasn't able to think as well. Garth had frozen her next to her partner before she had even realized he was there. He started wiping off the remaining frost of his now slowly-warming hand as Thompson came down from the upper floor. He was fully dressed again and in his right hand was the lamp he had apparently torn off the wall in frustration. He was _still_ talking to it however.

"That ought 'ta teach ya not to cheat at poker anymore you little bugger!" he mumbled angrily at it. He tossed it to the side the moment he noticed Garth and the two ice sculptures next to him. "I never knew you were the artistic type, sah. Not tah mention they look just like a couple of fellows I knew."

"Friends of yours?" Garth asked.

"Oh heavens, no. Just the owner and proprietor of this once fine establishment, Miss Brenda. Looks like she never took care of that ADAM addiction of hers. Pity, ain't it? Ooo, a cocktail!" He runs over to the cocktail bar and grabs an untouched cocktail, downing it in a single gulp. Then he passes out like a light.

"Note to self: Keep Thompson away from alcohol" Garth mumbled to himself as he turned and walked into the now open kitchen. Certainly there must be something more satiable in here he thought. Searching the cupboards, freezers and fridge he managed to get together a small meal of ham, beans, and a couple rolls, pocketing some money he found as he searched. He ate this somewhat satisfying meal along with a bottle of mineral water he found behind the cocktail bar just outside the kitchen. He didn't bother cleaning the dishes when he was finished as there was no point in doing so. He exited the kitchen into the cocktail bar once more to find Thompson still out and on the ground. He was wondering if he should just leave him there or not when he heard the sounds of splashing water coming from the fountain area. He turned his attention to where the Atlas statue stood in the middle of the flooded area and spotted two splicers scrounging around the water for anything they could manage to grab on to. Seizing the opportunity he sparks up a small electric burst in his hand and lets loose a shot of Electro Bolt into the water. Both splicers lit up as thousands of volts of electricity run wild in their bodies, charring their skin and hair in the process. They fell over in the water face first, presumably dead.

Garth waited until the water was no longer sparking before entering the pool to check if they were still alive or not. Neither splicer had a pulse, nor were they breathing. He heaved a sigh as he carried the two corpses out of the water. He would have preferred not having to kill anyone, splicer or not, but he realized that down here in this city that follows only the law of survival killing may become necessary. The sooner he gets out of here the better he would think. Sitting the two dead splicers up against a wall he covers them with a nearby tablecloth and burns them until they are nothing but ashes. He does so as a symbol of honor to those who have passed on. After finishing the small cremation ceremony he decides to look around the rest of the bottom floor for anything useful before waking Thompson to lead them to their next location. The first thing he spotted was a portable tape deck sitting on a table. He picks it up and plays it, listening to the message it gave;

"_Diane:_ _Another__New Year's, another night alone. I'm out, and you're stuck in__Hephaestus, working. Imagine my surprise. I just guess I'll have another drink... here's a toast to Diane McClintock, silliest girl in__Rapture. Silly enough to fall in love with__Andrew Ryan, silly enough to- (explosion)_

_Splicer 1:__ "__Long live__Atlas!"_

_Splicer 2:__ "__Death to Ryan!"_

_Diane:__What... what happened... I'm bleeding... oh, God... what's happening..."_

The tape suddenly ends there, leaving Garth in the dark as to the rest of what happened that night in the restaurant. _I should ask Thompson more about what happened here later, not that I expect a useful response…_ He continues his search of the ground level of the restaurant to find a couple first aid kits, an EVE hypo, and another pack of smokes on the stage where some band had been performing before whatever happened had happened. Along the same wall that the stage occupied he spotted a row of telephones. He tried using one to see if he could contact someone on the surface but all of them were out of service. He did find some cash next to the phones though so he went ahead and stuck them in his wallet. That's when he noticed the murdered couple at the feet of the elevator next to him. He gave them a quick cremation ceremony and headed back over to Thompson.

Taking a bucket of cold water Garth splashed Thompson to wake him up. Thompson snaps to life as he is washed over by the icy cold water. He starts yelling in some foreign language that Garth recognized as Japanese.

"あなた誰？どこまで話しましたか？どこかでお会いしましたか？/どこかでお会いしませんでしたか？" Thompson shouted. Garth splashed more water on him.

"Wake up, Thompson. I'm not in the mood for your little jokes right now." Thompson regained control over the speech section of his brain and addressed Garth in a huffy tone.

"Jokes? I'll have you know that I am 100% certifiably crazy!" He seemed rather proud to be able to say this as he moved about in such a manner.

"…That makes me feel MUCH better…"

"Glad to know that, sah!" Garth sighed and lit another cig to calm himself down. He blew out a puff of smoke before speaking again.

"So Thompson, do you know of anything that happened here on the eve of 1959? And please, keep anything you say simple. I'm not exactly in the best of moods right now."

"Simple eh? Hmm…" He gave a couple of moments thought. "Stuff happened!" he finally says.

Garth glares angrily at him and says, in an upset tone, "That's too simple!" Then suddenly Thompson goes into a trance-like state. He starts speaking in a French tone and goes bug-eyed, much to Garth's discomfort.

"On the eve of '59 there was widespread panic throughout the city as several locations, including this one, were raided and attacked by Fontaine's men. That was the beginning of the Fontaine/Ryan war." He breaks out of the trance and his eyes and tone go back to….normal (for Thompson at any rate). "How was that, sah?" he asked with eyes practically _beaming_. Garth just looked away silently for a few moments.

"…Never…never do that…that…whatever it was…again."

"Righto, sah!" He gave Garth a sharp salute while hopping on one foot.

"Stop that too."

"Aye aye, mon capitain!" He stopped hopping. Garth sighed heavily. If this city doesn't kill him or make him go insane then this man most certainly will.

"…Let's get a move on" he said. Thompson nodded vigorously and led them back upstairs and into the largely destroyed ladies restroom. There was a giant hole in the last stall that was large enough for even a full grown man to step through.

"Another one of my handiworks~ I made _this_ while escaping the bouncers!" Thompson said proudly. Garth decided it was better not to ask why he made a hole in the WOMEN'S restroom as opposed to the men's. The hole lead them to the upper level of a small auditorium. They were about to cross over a scaffolding when suddenly Thompson went deadly silent. For the first time since meeting him, Thompson actually looked _serious. _That couldn't be a good sign. Thompson turned over to Garth and silently motioned with his arm for him to come over and look. He quietly and carefully did so and peeked over the edge. What he saw then made his blood turned cold.

"Why is there a little girl a little girl prodding a corpse with a needle?" he whispered fervently. There was indeed a small girl poking and prodding a corpse with a needle. Upon close observation one could tell that she was draining blood out of the corpse. Once she had collected enough she would open the small glass container on the back that stored the blood and drank it all in a few small gulps.

"A Little Sister. Girls who have been changed into faithful little gatherers of ADAM for Andrew Ryan. Whatever you do, sah, do NOT startle it!" Thompson whispered back in his most serious voice. He and Garth started to slowly cross over the scaffolding to reach the other side as the Little Sister continued to gather ADAM from the corpse. Thompson made it across first and motioned for him to hurry over. Garth carefully continued to step across the creaky scaffolding.

"Quickly now, sah! No one's done any maintaining of any sort on this place for years, you never know when it might-" Thompson gets cut off as suddenly the rusty metal scaffolding gave a loud groan and then collapsed under Garth's weight.

"Lookout, sah!" Thompson shouted as Garth fell to the stage below. He managed to grab onto a part of the scaffolding just before hitting the ground. That too quickly snaps and Garth barely manages to land feet first onto the ground before rolling forward to prevent injuring himself.

"Wait right there, sah! I'll be right down to help you!" Thompson shouted down from above. Garth looked up to see where Thompson had gone but he was no longer there. What he did see however was much more terrifying. Unbeknownst to both Garth and Thompson the crashing scaffolding had caused the Little Sister to cry out in fear. Her scream attracted the attention of her guardian who was now standing above Garth on the upper floor of the auditorium where he had been just moments before. And he was mad. He let out a massive roar like a bull and jumped down in his fully clad diver's suit. Attached to his right hand was a blood and rust covered drill.

Garth had just come face to face with a Big Daddy.

**

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End Chapter 4

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**

I was bored during the car trip on my family vacation so I went ahead and started writing another chapter. I plan to write at least one more chapter this summer since this has been the most popular story. If this chapter gets a good response I might get back to writing again and going off hiatus.

Oh, and what do you think of the plot twist?


	5. Battle With a Big Daddy

**Battle with a Big Daddy**

* * *

"So they're called Big Daddies? I think Monsters would be a better term"

* * *

The big daddy swung its massive drill down on Garth with all its strength, attempting to crush his skull. Garth barely managed to roll out of the way in time as the deadly drill crashed into the floor where his head had been only moments before. Fragments of the floor flew past his face, one or two of them grazing his face and bouncing off his glasses. He quickly grabbed the sword Thompson had given to him and, using the bladed side, swiped at the big daddy's back as hard as he could. To his horror it did little more than lightly scratch the outer armor of the ferocious creature. If anything it only caused it to get angrier. With a gruesome roar it spun around and slammed Garth in the chest with its drill arm. He was sent flying into the wall where he could feel the wind get knocked out of him. His vision was starting to get blurry as he looked up to see the big daddy dashing over to him. His hand trembled as he struggled to lift it up and point it at the approaching monstrosity. Concentrating with all his might he felt his arm spark up with electricity right before sending a powerful bolt of blue lightning at the daddy. The powerful bolt struck the daddy which caused it to suddenly cease its offensive charge towards him. Blue coils of electric power surged up and down the big daddy as it roared in agony from Garth's sudden counterattack. Garth took advantage of this moment to rush over to the other side of the room where he could catch his breath. This reprieve was only temporary however as the Big Daddy quickly recovered and roared out in a furious rage. The red lights coming from its diver's helmet were brighter than before as it pounded one of its massive feet into the ground, causing a tremor to throw Garth off balance. The Big Daddy was anticipating this as it took that opportunity to charge football-style into Garth, slamming him into the wall. The Little Sister cheered him on in the background, calling him "Mr. Bubbles," while Garth coughed up some blood and fell down on his knees.

What was taking Thompson so long, he wondered as he glanced up to see the Daddy preparing to slam the drill on his head once again. Using what little strength he had left he raised the sword up in an attempt to repel the surely lethal blow. The Daddy gave a mighty roar as it brought the drill down onto Garth, striking at him with all its power. The sickening sound of shattering metal rung through Garth's ears as he witnessed the blade he was holding fracture then break in two right before his eyes. He began to feel a fear he hadn't felt in years as scenes of a war strewn battlefield from the past flashed before him in the broken blade as it slowly fell to the ground. He knew that he was severely outmatched against this thing.

_ Ah…is this it? I'm…going to die here?_ He felt all strength drain out of his limbs while the sound of a drill began to fill the room. The Big Daddy had started its drill in preparation of delivering its final blow to Garth. Everything seemed to slow down around him as the Daddy started to bring the deadly drill towards his face. Despite staring death in the face all Garth could think about was the promise he made that one day, many years ago. The drill was only inches away from his face now as he desperately struggled about in his mind. _No…No! I can't die here! Not yet…not until I've kept my promise! Isn't there anything…or anyone who can help me?_ Sudden a voice rang out at him, coming from the other room.

"Don't give up yet, sah! Hang in there, I'm almost ready to help you!" It was Thompson. He had almost forgotten about him after being nearly beaten to death. _Heh….that's right, Thompson's here to help. No point in giving up now! _In the final moments before the drill would give Garth a major makeover he managed to come up with a way to dodge it. The drill was already pressing against his forehead as he enacted upon his desperation plan. Using electro bolt he sent a massive electrical shock throughout his entire body, causing him to involuntarily arch his back over and fall onto his side. A small jolt travelled up the drill as well, stunning the big daddy just enough to jerk back its arm and allow Garth to avoid the lethal blow. The drill pierced the wall and dug in several inches before the Big Daddy could cut the power to it. It was too late however as the drill was now stuck in the wall.

"Good going, sah!" shouted Thompson from the room just next to them. Garth could see it from where he lay but he was more surprised by what he saw _inside_ that room. Thompson was there of course but standing next to him was some type of vending machine that looked as if it were armed with some makeshift ballistic ordinance launchers on either side of it.

"Wel-Wel-WelCOME t-to the-the-the-the CIRCus oF *shnnkrt* CIRcuS o-o-of-f-f-f VALUUUES!" it sputtered out. Before Garth could even open his mouth to ask about what it was it began firing makeshift grenades at the Big Daddy. The room was filled the smell of smoke and burning metal as a bright flash and sharp explosion were made every time one of the grenades impacted against the Daddy's armor. It roared out in pain and an unfathomable rage while tugging furiously at the drill burrowed into the wall.

"Quickly, over here sah! Before the thing manages to free itself!" Thompson shouted at Garth. To Garth's most pleasant surprise the jolt from earlier had somehow managed to restore a bit of his stamina, enough so that he could stand again. He noticed his forehead was bleeding as he hurriedly made his way over to where Thompson was. It was starting to get into his left eye so he had to clamp it shut.

"It's about time you made it you crazy old coot" Garth said half-sarcastically as he reached the window connecting the two rooms.

"Sorry I couldn't make it sooner, old chap. I was busy modiriferafying this venda-whatsit" Thompson said in reply. "But we can talk about that later. Take these and use them on the Big Daddy!" he said, handing Garth several green-shelled revolver rounds.

"So they're called Big Daddies? I think Monsters would be a better term. So what are these?" he asked, loading them into the revolver.

"They're special bullets that are made for piercing metal such as the armor that the Big Daddies wear. We don't have many so try and aim for the vitals, sah!" Garth hesitated momentarily at the thought of having to kill another person before being suddenly interrupted by the Big Daddy's roar as it finally managed to free itself from the wall. Now was not the time to think, but instead the time to act. Snapping the ammo cylinder back into place he took aim at the enraged Big Daddy when his body decided to remind him how worn out at tired it was. A sharp pain filled his arm and chest area that nearly caused him to stumble over. He turned to Thompson again to speak.

"Thompson, you need to use the gun! My body's too worn out to listen to me properly!" Thompson looked somewhat shocked. That didn't exactly fill Garth with a good feeling about what Thompson would say next.

"Err…about that…I don't really know how to use a gun." Garth stared at him in disbelief.

"Please tell me you're joking." His question was answered with Thompson's silence and looking over to the side to avoid eye contact. Garth cursed in frustration as the Big Daddy was now charging at them through the barrage of explosives.

"Are these things indestructible?" Garth shouted as he struggled to aim the gun at the quickly approaching Big Daddy. Its armor was covered in scars and burn marks from the explosives but somehow it was still holding out strong. A cold sweat began to break out on Garth's face as he prepared to take a shot at it. Once he thought he had a shot at its head he fired the gun. Pain spread out rapidly throughout his arm as he cried out in pain from the gun's recoil. To make things worse the bullet missed its intended target, zooming past the Daddy's head and into the wall.

"Try again, sah, and quickly! We don't have much time left until it gets to us!" Thompson shouted desperately.

"Easy for you to say…" Garth mumbled under his breath as he winced from the immense pain firing the gun had brought upon him. Lining up the sights of the revolver he fired once more, this time clipping one of the lights in the helmet. The Daddy roared in shock.

"Good shot! You almost got him!" Suddenly the vending machine/grenade launcher hybrid stopped firing, almost as if in response to Thompson's comment. The Big Daddy now had an uninhibited path to Garth and Thompson. "Oh bugger" was all Thompson could say. The Daddy let out its most massive roar yet and it charged with reckless abandon at the two of them. Garth cursed loudly as he started firing nonstop at the approaching beast, ignoring the pain in his arm. He fired once! Twice! Three times! The Daddy took all the bullets but kept charging anyway.

Garth only had one shot left. He would have to make it count. He aimed as carefully as he could with his one eye. His hands were trembling wildly as he felt his breathing become ragged and hoarse. The Daddy was only feet away from them now. Thompson shrieked out in terror like a little girl as it neared them. Garth struggled to keep his arm straight. The Daddy was now only a meter away from them, drill reared in the air ready to pound them. Garth's eye suddenly flares up and he pulls the trigger.

*BANG!*

…

…

Silence…

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End Chapter 5


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